


Six Other Ways It Could Have Ended on the Roof

by quigonejinn



Category: Iron Man (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Iron Man 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-09
Updated: 2012-04-09
Packaged: 2017-11-03 07:39:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/378948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quigonejinn/pseuds/quigonejinn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Originally posted on <a href="http://quigonejinn.dreamwidth.org/157972.html#cutid1">DW</a> on 5/8/2010.  Yes, I did in fact  get back after a midnight showing and immediately start writing fic.</p>
    </blockquote>





	Six Other Ways It Could Have Ended on the Roof

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on [DW](http://quigonejinn.dreamwidth.org/157972.html#cutid1) on 5/8/2010. Yes, I did in fact get back after a midnight showing and immediately start writing fic.

1\. 

It rains, and fire trucks come. Chemical response teams do, too. One by one, the fires wink out. 

2\. 

It rains, and fire trucks come. Tony and Pepper land, and Pepper tells him she can't take it anymore. Her body can't take the stress anymore. Tony kisses her, and she kisses him back, and Jim Rhodes doesn't say anything as Pepper puts her hand Tony's new triangular chestpiece and keeps it there. 

Tony takes her by the elbows -- the joints of the handpieces feel strange on her skin, and she is definitely getting wet. His hair is wet. Rain is running down the back of his suit; normally, it makes a seal, which is how it, uh, keeps generated liquids from squishing out of the joints if he has to take a long distance flight. 

Pepper rests her hand on the light of the arc reactor, and she says softly, but loudly enough to be heard over the rain. Tony pretends he can't hear her, so she repeats it.

"You can't have your company back, Tony." He doesn't seem to understand, so she adds, "And I can't do this. I'm responsible for people besides you now." 

And she walks down the stairs, by herself, carefully, gingerly in both the heels and the water dripping from her hair and dress. 

Rhodey takes off into the night. 

3\. 

"Is this OK?" 

Tony is halfway leaned in for the kiss, but something on Pepper's face stops him. 

He didn't understand: when she said that she quit the job, she meant him and the company together, in the same package. It isn't like her stress comes only from dealing with press inquiries and profit drops. He has something to do with it too, so she walks down the stairs, by herself, carefully, gingerly in both the heels and the water dripping from her hair and dress. 

Rhodey takes off into the night. 

4\. 

He picks her up with a bump, they fly hard against the wind, and land with another bump, and Tony starts to talk to her and ask her why she doesn't answer, and his vision is all screwy from what the Russian's plasma conductors, and it isn't clear, in fact, until he pops the lid on his helmet and hears what Jim is yelling and realizes Pepper's head is flopping to the side at an unnatural angle. 

The suit offers a lot of structural support during high-impact activities. 

5.

"Is Tony -- Where's Tony? Please, Jim, tell me where Tony is." 

6\. 

It rains, and nobody comes. No Tony. No Pepper. No Tony and Pepper. It rains, and Jim sits in the rain, feeling it leak down the back of the suit, which is no longer quite so perfectly sealed. Eventually, the woman who was working for Tony comes up, except she is wearing a black body suit and a government badge on the arm. She takes a look at Jim and says nothing, but sits down next to him for a long time. 

"Did you actually like him?" Jim asks. 

"I did," she says. "Compulsive, narcissistic. Mostly an asshole. But I liked him. Did he go looking for Pepper?" 

Jim nods. 

"There is a file waiting for you back in your desk at your office," the woman says. Her name had been Natalie when she was working for Tony, but Jim is pretty sure that isn't her real name. Her hair is still red, though. "You should read the file carefully. It has information on something important. My bosses want you to be a part of it. Your bosses do, too, but they just don't know it yet." 

Jim nods again. After another moment, she gets up and walks away. He sits for a little while longer. War Machine takes off into the night. 

And it rains.

**Author's Note:**

> No. 4 was all D. around 10:45 PM, probably screamed out on a sidewalk somewhere between viewings. I cannot remember. The day is a blur of standing in the airport with signs and gabby_silang screaming, "MOTHERFUCKER!" at the top of her lungs when we saw the post-credits clip for IM2.


End file.
